A senior figure in Sri Lanka’s Frontline Socialist Party has claimed that two-thirds of the country’s population has fallen into poverty under the current administration, while 21% of children under the age of five are suffering from malnutrition.
Pubudu Jayagoda, the party’s education secretary, made the claims during an interview with Siyatha television. He contrasted the reported nutritional condition of young children with statements that the country’s Treasury was full, arguing that economic claims by the government did not reflect conditions faced by vulnerable sections of the population.
Jayagoda said that 21% of children under five were affected by malnutrition and claimed that Sri Lanka had consequently fallen to a level comparable with countries facing severe nutritional crises, including Afghanistan and Somalia.
He also warned of the potential long-term consequences for children affected by nutritional deficiencies. According to Jayagoda, children who will form part of Sri Lanka’s future workforce are at risk of impaired physical and intellectual development because of inadequate nutrition.
The party official argued that the issue should receive greater attention from the government and society, particularly because its effects could extend beyond childhood. He said nutritional deficiencies among children could affect the physical and intellectual development of a generation expected to enter the labour force in the coming years.
Jayagoda also criticised what he described as the government’s emphasis on subjects such as artificial intelligence while, in his view, insufficient attention was being given to child nutrition and poverty.
“Talking only about topics such as artificial intelligence without paying attention to this serious situation is a mockery,” he said, according to the source.
His comments combined two separate claims: that two-thirds of the population had become poor under the current administration and that 21% of children under five were suffering from malnutrition. The claims were presented by Jayagoda in the context of his criticism of the government’s economic priorities.
Jayagoda is the education secretary of the Frontline Socialist Party, a left-wing political organisation in Sri Lanka. His remarks therefore represent the position of an opposition political figure rather than an official government assessment.
The comments focused particularly on the relationship between household economic conditions, child nutrition and the country’s future workforce. Jayagoda argued that the effects of inadequate nutrition should be treated as an immediate national concern rather than being overshadowed by discussion of emerging technologies.
He made the remarks during his interview with a local television channel, where he also criticised the contrast between claims about the strength of the Treasury and the reported nutritional condition of young children.
